The Last Day of 2011

It's always a strange feeling when one year ends and another begins, but this year it somehow doesn't really seem real. However, it really is the last day of the year, and the last chance to blog in 2011. I have not made any resolutions, as it's just depressing when they all get broken. Hope you will all have more success with yours!

I just have some journal pages to show today, once again, more or less the same as always but different....Sorry that the photos are not good; the light was just bad all day.

And here is a little story which Narda sent me; I think it is something we can all take with us into the new year.

Garbage Truck of Life.
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!
The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump itand sometimes they'll dump it on you.
Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so:
"Love the people who treat you right.
Pray for the ones who don't."
Life is ten percent what you make it
and ninety percent how you take it!
"What lies behind us
and what lies before us
are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I would like to wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year 2012. Take care of yourselves, have a good day, and thanks for dropping in!

Paint Party Friday Week # 42

It hardly seems possible that this is the last PPF in this year; where has the time gone? Thanks to Eva and Kristin for hosting this challenge.

I have made a mixed media canvas for this week, using photos of me taken at various times, and pictures of London. I grew up in London's Docklands, more or less in Jack-the-Ripper-Land, and the predominant colours were grey and black, which I have used in my painting. Many of the buildings were not only soot blackened but also scarred and damaged by the *Blitz*. I cut away part of the photos I have used along the bottom of the picture, in order to make them merge better with the background. The pictures show places with which I was familiar during my childhood and school time. We lived very near to the Tower of London, where we often played as kids.

Hope you all have a great day. Take care, and thanks for visiting!

The Same but Different....

Yesterday I made some tags to enter into a few challenges. The theme over at *Take a word* is print this week, and this was my inspiration for the tags I made. They have all been made with the same combination of a *sandwich-man* stamp from Scrollswork, and TH's umbrella man. I used tags cut from waste cardboard, which I covered with paper from an old book. After distressing the background, I stamped the motive, and added the umbrella-man, twice as a die-cut, using old book covers, and once sponged with ink using the *waste*. Although each tag is basically the same, the look has been changed each time by using different colours and positioning of the images, and different *accessories*. I am also entering the tags into the challenges at the *Craft Room*, and at * Everybody Art* and at *Sunday Stampers* where *anything goes* is on.

I started some new journal pages, too, but they are only half finished just now.
Thanks to all who left me nice messages yesterday, it did me good to see that other people care. I still feel very down, but am trying to give myself a kick in the butt to get back into my routine again, and hope that it will help.

And before I close, another joke from Narda:

An Englishman, a Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Latvian, a Turk, a German, an Indian, several Americans (including a Southerner, a New Englander, and a Californian) an Argentine, a Dane, an Australian, a Slovakian, an Egyptian, a Japanese, a Moroccan, a Frenchman, a New Zealander, a Spaniard, a Russian, a Guatemalan, a Colombian, a Pakistani, a Malaysian, a Croatian, a Uzbek, a Cypriot, a Pole, a Lithuanian, a Chinese, a Sri Lankan, a Lebanese, a Cayman Islander, a Ugandan, a Vietnamese, a Korean, a Uruguayan, a Czech, an Icelander, a Mexican, a Finn, a Honduran, a Panamanian, an Andorran, an Israeli, a Venezuelan, a Fijian, a Peruvian, an Estonian, a Brazilian, a Portuguese, a Liechtensteiner, a Mongolian, a Hungarian, a Canadian, a Moldovan, a Haitian, a Norfolk Islander, a Macedonian, a Bolivian, a Cook Islander, a Tajikistani, a Samoan, an Armenian, an Aruban, an Albanian, a Greenlander, a Micronesian, a Virgin Islander, a Georgian, a Bahaman, a Belarusian, a Cuban, a Tongan, a Cambodian, a Qatari, an Azerbaijani, a Romanian, a Chilean, a Kyrgyzstani, a Jamaican, a Filipino, a Ukrainian, a Dutchman, an Ecuadorian, a Costa Rican, a Swede, a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Swiss, a Greek, a Belgian, a Singaporean, an Italian, a Norwegian and 47 Africans all from different African countries all walk into a fine restaurant...
The maître scrutinizes the group one by one, and bars their entrance saying, "Sorry, you can't come in here without a Thai."


Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Not feeling so good....

Hi everybody, these are pictures I made back in 1991, but they look like I feel today.

Catch you all again tomorrow. Have a good day and take care!

Lots of Thank You's

Hi everybody, I must say I am glad that the holidays are over and that life can get back to *normal* now, whatever that may be! I want to say thanks to all who sent me beautiful cards for Christmas and my birthday, hand made presents, embellishments and other *play-things*: Jo, Annette, Zoe, Katie, Yvonne,Cindy, Carole, Carole (Cobbly), Maria, Elvie, Carolyn, Suze, Natasa, Sara Bee, Lynne, Karen, Sue and China.

Here's wishing you all a great day, take care, and thanks for visiting!

More Journal Pages

Holiday time is a difficult time to be alone, so the past couple of days were rather sad. Well, at least I didn't have to cook for anyone, and could spend my days crafting as always....
I hate to do this to you again, but once again a song has crept into my work - *Pictures of Matchstick men* - from Status Quo, which has been going round in my head for days; now it will surely do the same for you! And for those of you who have perhaps forgotten how it goes, here it is:



I have used predominantly grey in the pages, more or less matching my mood. The pictures and images have been printed in black and white; some have been applied as dry transfers, as I like the rather ragged look this gives. Others have been collaged,and mixed with some London images. As a kid I used to call the guards *matchstick men* - perhaps because they always stood so still and straight. I have used two TH die cuts, the dress form, which has been *Stamped* using the *waste* from the die-cut, and the umbrella man.

Here's wishing you all a good day. Take care, and thanks for visiting!

Happy Holidays You All!

Happy Holidays to you all, whatever you may be celebrating, and enjoy the time you can spend in the company of family, friends and loved ones.

Take care of yourselves, and thanks for visiting!

'Twas the Day before Christmas...

Good morning you all! Hope you have all finished running round in circles and that everything is ready for the big day.
I wrapped up the last of my presents yesterday, and that was about it.
I finished the journal pages I started for PPF, so now the spread is complete; the second page is just as depressing as the first one!

I hope that the next pages will improve!

Here's wishing you all a good day, happy holidays whatever you are celebrating, and don't forget to take care of yourselves! Thanks for looking in!

Paint Party Friday Week # 41

Good morning you all. Today is Paint Party Friday, hosted by Kristin and Eva, and the last one before Christmas.
I had my last visit to the dentist yesterday. He was very satisfied, so I was happy to hear that, and will be happy not to see him for a while, although he really is a good dentist, and a nice chap, too!

For Paint Party Friday I doodled some faces, eyes and mouths, using pen and ink and water colour pencils. I don't really know whay I painted it, it just happened, like so many things!

Here's wishing you all a good day. Hope you have now all finished your preparations, and have some time for a breather. Take care of yourselves, and thanks for visiting!

Thanks a Lot....

Hi You all! First of all many, many thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes you posted on my blog yesterday, and also to all who sent cards and presents. Makes a nice contrast to my dear family, who once again oversaw the date.... But I suppose they are not worth worrying about, although somehow it still hurts!
I spent the day with my friend Inge. I bought some nice cake from the bakers in the afternoon, which we enjoyed with coffee, and in the evening I made us fried potato cakes with smoked salmon and a sour cream dip, very nice, even if not exactly haute cuisine!
Now I just have to get through the coming holidays, and then I will have survived it all for another year. Yoohoo!

The journal pages I have made on and off over the past few days. I had the music of the song *Windmills in my mind* going round in my head and these pages were the result. I have written the text of the song along the dividing lines *in my head*.

Here's wishing you all a great day. Hope you have all finished with your Xmas preparations now. One of the positive things of being alone at this time, is that it saves a lot of work.... Take care of yourselves, and thanks for visiting!

Happy Birthday to me

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me....

Have a good day you all, I'll be back tomorrow!

More little notebooks....

Good morning you all. Hope you are all more or less finished with your holiday preparations, and not in too much stress just now! I overslept today, didn't wake up till 10.15!
I went into my notebook workshop again today, and managed five little blue and white ones, and spent the rest of the day sorting photos and watching TV.
The notebooks have been made with some double sided cardstock, one side in dark blue, with a lovely pearly shimmer, and the other side looks like watered silk. It doesn't how so well in the photos. Each book has a pocket inside the front cover with 2 tags. I left off all embellishments to make them easier to pop into a pocket or purse.

So, just a short post today, need to do a little bit of H*******k!
Have a good day, take care of yourselves, and thanks for dropping in!

Sunday again

Good morning you all! Yesterday was another day that disappeared very quickly. Perhaps it's because it gets dark so quickly, I don't know, but I have the feeling that the clocks are spinning faster and faster. There was no nice sunrise today, though - it's grey in grey and dripping wet, not worth taking a photo of!

I thought it was time I did another journal spread, as I didn't get round to opening my journal all week due to time at the dentist and other crafty projects that took a lot of time. I gave the pages a coat of gesso first, and then the rest just happened. The umbrella man has been made using the waste from a die-cut as a template, as I have the die but not the stamp. I like the soft look better than the die-cuts themselves here. I am not yet sure if I should give the pages some more colour - we shall see!

And as it's Sunday, another joke from Narda:


Working as a computer instructor for an adult-education program at a community college, I am keenly aware of the gap in computer knowledge between my younger and older students.

My observations were confirmed the day a new student walked into our library area and glanced at the encyclopedia volumes stacked on a bookshelf.

"What are all these books?" he asked.

Somewhat surprised, I replied that they were encyclopedias.

"Really?" he said. "Someone printed out the whole DVD?"

Have a good day you all, take care of yourselves, and thanks for looking in!

The Good and the Bad....

This is the umpteenth continuation of the still not ended story of *My Dentist and I*. First the good news - I now belong to the crowned heads of Europe. Well, the crowns are now on my teeth after many long struggles. The dentist has so much patience, he kept filing till it all fitted, and all of a sudden it was done! But now for the bad news - I have to go back again next Thursday, for a final check up and control....And then, I hope, it will be over!! Yoooohoooooo! After weeks of living off food like semolina and mashed potatoes, I will be able to bite again! I was really knocked out by the time I got back home, it is very strenuous lying there open mouthed for over 2 hours. I bet the dentist and his 2 assistants were tired out, too. Anyway, I treated myself to an afternoon on my recliner with Harry Potter for company. In the evening I managed 2 little note books; one with a Claude Lorrain cover again, and the other in gold-leather look with a wire binding. Then I spent the rest of the evening lazing, too; sometimes it is just necessary.

As I was up early this morning, I managed to catch another beautiful sunrise from my balcony, although t was freezing cold outside!

As I am writing, a band of cloud has already covered it up!
And this is a You-tube Video sent to me by Narda again, it is from the Carlson School of Management in Minnesota. Enjoy!



Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Paint Party Friday Week # 40

Good morning you all, another week has sped by; Christmas is nearly upon us, we have only two weeks left till the year is over, and it's PPF again, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin.
I didn't have much time for painting this week, as I needed to do mounds of washing (wonder who makes everything dirty?), make several visits to the dentist, and complete a lot of other projects that I need now. My *Smash Book* is finished, looks good, even if I say it myself, and seems to be related to me - it's got very fat around the middle - now that everything is in it. I have made it a *belly-binder* out of green striped ribbon to hold it all together.

But back to PPF. I started painting a picture of the lunar eclipse which we had here on December 10th, I have used acrylics, water colours and pastels. I am not happy with it yet, so will continue work on it next week. The photo is definitely better!

And this is a picture which I have been working on here and there for the past couple of weeks. It has been painted on Anna Griffin paper, then stamped, and has some dry gel transfers added. I think I will leave it as it is now.

That's all for today! I am off to the dentist now, hopefully for the final,and absolutely final visit this year - more about it tomorrow! Have a good day, take care of yourselves, and thanks a lot for dropping in!